'My daughter was stabbed to death by a small boat migrant - we need stronger borders'

A grieving mother whose daughter died after being stabbed 23 times by a small boat migrant has said the nation needs to "face up to the danger" of undocumented illegal immigration and "strengthen our borders". Rhiannon Whyte, 27, was making her way home at Bescot Stadium railway station in Walsall, West Mids, on October 20, 2024, when she was attacked by Sudanese migrant Deng Chol Majek.

Majek, 26, is said to have tracked Ms Whyte to the station after she finished a shift at the Park Inn hotel, where he had been living, at 11pm before inflicting 19 wounds to her head, including a fatal brain stem injury. CCTV played at Majek's trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court showed he disappeared from view on a deserted platform for 90 seconds at around 11.18pm to attack Ms Whyte, whose son was aged five at the time.

Sudanese national Majek, who falsely claimed he was 19 when he entered the UK, was handed a minimum term of 29 years at Coventry Crown Court last month. Rhiannon's mother Siobhan wiped away tears in court after seeing her daughter's killer caged. 

Speaking to The Sun, Siobhan said she wanted to say "what happened" to her daughter when other people were "trying to make political capital out of her death". 

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She told the paper: “We need to face up to the danger and do something to strengthen our borders, not just for my child but for other children.”

Ms Whyte added that her own family were immigrants from Ireland who had come to the UK "legally with documents to work and make a better life for themselves".

But she said the country was now not being protected from migrants "who do not have any documents and who we know nothing about" or know what they "might be capable of".

Speaking about Majek, she said if his ilk were allowed to continue to come into the UK then "women like Rhiannon are going to keep dying or being sexually abused".

A court heard last month Rhiannon died in hospital three days after she was attacked, after being found injured in a shelter on the platform by the driver and guard of a train which pulled in about five minutes after Majek's sickening assault.

Jurors deliberated for just two hours and five minutes before unanimously convicting Majek of murder and possessing a screwdriver as an offensive weapon. Majek is said to have lied to the court about his age, claiming to be 19 despite a date of birth making him 27 being recorded by authorities during a failed asylum claim in Germany.

Presiding, Mr Justice Soole said Deng Chol Majek maintained he was aged 18 when he entered the UK in July 2024 but age assessments had concluded he was actually aged between 25 and 28, with the judge sentencing him on the basis he was 26.

The judge said Majek had taken a screwdriver to the scene of the murder and used it to kill Ms Whyte. "I am sure that you brought it to the scene with the intent to murder Rhiannon," the judge said.

"I am sure that the offence involved a significant degree of premeditation. The CCTV shows that for substantial parts of the evening of October 20 you had been in the reception area of the hotel and staring fixedly in the direction of the group of female employees, including Rhiannon, who were working there.

"Then at the time of the end of Rhiannon's shift, you went outside by the main entrance after Rhiannon had come out, you then followed her all the way to the station platform armed with your weapon.

"Secondly, the particularly vicious brutality of this sustained assault with your chosen weapon. Thirdly, its commission against a woman alone late at night in a public place. Fourthly, your disposal of evidence with the intent of escaping detection.

"The CCTV evidence shows you throwing Rhiannon's mobile into the river. It was later retrieved by a police diver. You evidently disposed of the screwdriver."

He added that Majek had shown "no empathy for the victim".

After inflicting fatal injuries on Ms Whyte, Majek walked to the Caldmore Green area of Walsall to buy beer and was recorded on CCTV seemingly wiping blood from his trousers.

He returned to the hotel at 12.13am, changed his bloodstained flip-flops for trainers, and was seen dancing with other residents in the car park, within sight of emergency vehicles called to the station.

Rhiannon's mother Siobhan Whyte also gave a statement in court, telling Majek "let me see you dancing now".

Speaking after Majek was jailed last month, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said Ms Whyte's murder was the "consequence of mass illegal migration".

He said: "Given the timing of his illegal entry by small boat, he would have been eligible for deportation to Rwanda. If Labour had allowed the Rwanda scheme to start as planned, this man could have been rapidly deported instead of being put up in an asylum hotel.

"This murder could have been averted, and Labour must now explain why they think this man should have been in the UK, not Rwanda.

"It is now clearer than ever that we must leave the ECHR and deport all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival."